Just about everyone's had a day when they've wished it were possible to send an alternate self to take care of unpleasant or tedious errands while the real self takes it easy. In Kiln People, David Brin's sci-fi-meets-noir novel, this wish has come true. In Brin's imagined future, folks are able to make inexpensive, disposable clay copies of themselves. These golems or "dittos" live for a single day to serve their creator, who can then choose whether or not to "inload" the memories of the ditto's brief life. But private investigator Albert Morris gets more than he, or his "ditective" copies, bargain for when he signs on to help solve the mysterious disappearance of Universal Kilns' co-founder Yasil Maharal--the father of dittotech.

Brin successfully interweaves plot lines as numerous as our hero's ditectives and doggedly sticks to the rules of his created dittotech while Morris's "realflesh" and clay manifestations slowly unravel the dangerous secret behind Maharal's disappearance. As Brin juggles his multiple protagonists and antagonists, he urges the reader to question notions of memory, individualism, and technology, and to answer the schizoid question "which 'you' is 'you?'" Brin's enjoyment is evident as he plays with his terracotta creations' existential angst and simultaneously deconstructs the familiar streetwise detective meme--complete with a multilayered ending. Overall, Kiln People is a fun read, with a good balance of hard science fiction and pop sensibility. --Jeremy Pugh


From Publishers Weekly
Bestselling novelist Brin (Startide Rising; The Postman; etc.) restricts the action to planet Earth, but still allows his imagination to roam the cosmos in this ambitious SF/mystery hybrid whose grasp occasionally exceeds its reach. Thanks to the new technology of imprinting, people in a near-future America can copy their personalities into animated clay bodies (called "dittos" or "golems"), which last a single day. Albert Morris, private investigator, is his own sidekick as he attempts to uncover the murderer of a prominent imprinting research scientist, capture a criminal mastermind specializing in ditto the major ditto manufacturer and pinning the blame on several Alberts. Brin deftly explores the issues of identity, privacy and work in a world where everyone is supported with a living wage and has ready access to duplication technology. The book features the author's usual style, with a lighter touch and punnish humor abounding amid the hard SF speculation. The duplication of the "ditective" makes for a challenging twist on the standard private eye narrative, allowing Morris to simultaneously lead the reader through three separate (and interacting) plot lines. The hardboiled framework and the humor mix a bit uneasily, as does the social background of a libertarian/socialist U.S.A. The book's major fault lies in the diffusion of most of the tension as expendable dittos replace vulnerable humans for much of the action. Still, the work is brightened by Brin's trademark hardheaded optimism. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In a future world where disposable clones handle humanity's day-to-day chores, Albert Morris uses his "dittos" to assist him in his job as a private investigator. When he stumbles upon the knowledge of a new technology that could alter the concept of human nature forever, he becomes part of a bloody and violent street war that threatens the fabric of society and the human race. Brin (The Postman) presents a rich, kaleidoscopic story that challenges the concepts of identity and individuality. For most sf collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The consequences of a single consciousness successively inhabiting several disposable bodies is the classic sf theme Brin imaginatively varies in this book. Albert Morris, a detective in a bizarre future L.A., is investigating copyright violations--to wit, the construction of illegal "dittos," as the disposable bodies are called. The family of an archetypal Mr. Big calls him in, because Mr. Big is up to something, and the family needs some very private investigation. The flavor here is rather that of a collaboration between Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick, but Brin works out details so exhaustively that he comes up with an absorbing story to reward the effort of page-by-page reading. Perhaps he includes more preaching than some will care for, but mostly this is another feather in the cap of an author who refuses to make any concessions to the dumbing down of scientific concepts in sf. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
: “Intricate plotting, unflagging inventiveness, and a judicious sprinkling of puns and in-jokes: Brin keeps the pages feverishly turning.”–Kirkus Reviews

“Brin presents a rich, kaleidoscopic story that challenges the concepts of identity and individuality.”– Library Journal

“Brin deftly explores the issues of identity, privacy and work . . . the book features the author’s usual style, with a lighter touch and punish humor abounding amid the hard SF speculation.”--Publishers Weekly

“More than any writer I know, David Brin can take scary, important problems and turn them sideways, revealing wonderful opportunities. This talent shows strongly in Kiln People, a novel which is deep and insightful and often hilarious, all at the same time.”—Vernor Vinge



Book Description
In a perilous future, disposable duplicate bodies fulfill every citizen's legal and illicit whim. Life as a 24-hour "ditto" is cheap, as Albert Morris knows. A brash investigator with a knack for trouble, he's sent plenty of clay duplicates into deadly peril, then "inloaded" memories from copies that were shot, crushed, drowned . . . all part of a day's work.

But when Morris tackles a ring of crooks making bootleg copies of a famous actress, he trips into a secret so explosive it incites open warfare on the streets of Dittotown.



About the Author
David Brin is the author of more than a dozen novels, including six volumes in his award-winning Uplift saga, as well as two short story collections and a nonfiction work, The Transparent Society, about privacy in the electronic age. His New York Times bestseller The Postman was the basis for a major motion picture starring Kevin Costner. Brin was a fellow at the California Space Institute and at the Jet Propulsion Lab, studying spacecraft design, cometary physics, and analyses of the likelihood of life in the universe. He now lives in southern California.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Where does the soul reside? Can it be copied, divided, subdivided, and compartmentalized? Where does the human spirit call its home? Can the soul be quantified through quantum physics? These are some of the questions and driving motivations in David Brin's Kiln People.

It's a different kind of world than one you normally expect. Ask yourself this: What would you do if you could make a copy of yourself? You could sleep late while your copy goes to work. Or you could learn French while the other you does your taxes. The possibilities are endless, and in this future, it's just part of everyone's average day.

The copies -- golems -- are clay bodies imprinted with the Standing Wave of the original's consciousness. Given a portion of the original's soul-stuff, the golems live out an aspect of their originals' lives. Some dittos are built for sensuality, others for combat. Some are better at concentration and mental labor, while some are just used for basic labor until their mayfly life spans end and they transfer the memories of their day back to their originals. This is the new human society, populated by people and their disposable selves. Whether you see golems as utilities freeing mankind or as a new race of slaves to be exploited depends on which side of the wave you stand.

Albert Morris is a detective in a world where most people have hobbies. He spends his day in his bathrobe, searching computer files while his dittos do his legwork. Albert specializes in copyright crime and ditto piracy -- people stealing golems and making black-market copies. Even in this new society, people can make a living on human nature's baser instincts.

Albert's success rate soon draws the attention of Aeneas Polom, one of the founders of Universal Kiln, creators of the golem technology. It seems Polom's partner has been kidnapped, and he wants Morris to investigate. But kidnapping eventually turns to murder, and Morris finds himself in a conflict between two mad scientists, in a fight for control that will change duplication technology even further. Along the way, another Albert finds himself involved in a not-so-legal industrial espionage mission that turns to sabotage aimed against Universal Kiln and has him on the run and hunted.

This is a fun novel, rich with ideas, that examines on a very human level the ramifications and side effects of our ambitions and the things we take for granted. It's also a hard-boiled murder mystery with levels of physics and metaphysics that work your brain. But for me, as always, it's David Brin's characters that really pull me into the story and keep me up until three in the morning.

Brin, himself a scientist, spends a lot of time thinking, writing, and lecturing about the future. He ponders topics like space travel, information technology, and ecology, as well as the human spirit -- the way we live and how that might change tomorrow. Something done for the greater good could also have tragic consequences if we are not careful.

His writing is filled with an enthusiasm for what's to come. Brin entertains as well as informs and enlightens the reader. He does so with imagination and excitement and an honest and passionate clarity to his voice. As I've read his books, I've shared his excitement and wondered over the possibilities of the future. (J.K.)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In a perilous future, disposable duplicate bodies fulfill every citizen's legal and illicit whim. Life as a 24-hour "ditto" is cheap, as Albert Morris knows. A brash investigator with a knack for trouble, he's sent plenty of clay duplicates into deadly peril, then "inloaded" memories from copies that were shot, crushed, drowned . . . all part of a day's work.

But when Morris tackles a ring of crooks making bootleg copies of a famous actress, he trips into a secret so explosive it incites open warfare on the streets of Dittotown.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Bestselling novelist Brin (Startide Rising; The Postman; etc.) restricts the action to planet Earth, but still allows his imagination to roam the cosmos in this ambitious SF/mystery hybrid whose grasp occasionally exceeds its reach. Thanks to the new technology of imprinting, people in a near-future America can copy their personalities into animated clay bodies (called "dittos" or "golems"), which last a single day. Albert Morris, private investigator, is his own sidekick as he attempts to uncover the murderer of a prominent imprinting research scientist, capture a criminal mastermind specializing in ditto copyright infringement and foil a conspiracy aimed at destroying the major ditto manufacturer and pinning the blame on several Alberts. Brin deftly explores the issues of identity, privacy and work in a world where everyone is supported with a living wage and has ready access to duplication technology. The book features the author's usual style, with a lighter touch and punnish humor abounding amid the hard SF speculation. The duplication of the "ditective" makes for a challenging twist on the standard private eye narrative, allowing Morris to simultaneously lead the reader through three separate (and interacting) plot lines. The hardboiled framework and the humor mix a bit uneasily, as does the social background of a libertarian/socialist U.S.A. The book's major fault lies in the diffusion of most of the tension as expendable dittos replace vulnerable humans for much of the action. Still, the work is brightened by Brin's trademark hardheaded optimism. (Jan. 15) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In a future world where disposable clones handle humanity's day-to-day chores, Albert Morris uses his "dittos" to assist him in his job as a private investigator. When he stumbles upon the knowledge of a new technology that could alter the concept of human nature forever, he becomes part of a bloody and violent street war that threatens the fabric of society and the human race. Brin (The Postman) presents a rich, kaleidoscopic story that challenges the concepts of identity and individuality. For most sf collections. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews